PBL 2018: 3 epic clashes to look forward to in the Pune leg

After a few days of fireworks in Hyderabad, the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2018 caravan has now arrived at Pune. The opening day of the Pune leg already witnessed some dazzling display in a doubleheader with the first tie between Pune 7 Aces and Mumbai Rockets keeping the crowd on the tenterhooks.

With the PBL 2018 matches scheduled to be held in the Maharashtrian city till January 1, a lot more excitement is in store for badminton aficionados. Quite a few fabulous match-ups are lined up for the lovers of the sport.

As much as Indian fans all over the world want this matchup to happen, the question still swirling on everybody's lips is - "Will Saina play?"

Nehwal hasn't taken the court in all 3 of the North Eastern Warriors' outings so far. Saina self-admittedly injured her shin during the Asian Games and had to play a full season with that.

Now, with the new season about to begin in a few days, the former World No. 1 is understandably focussed on recovering fully. 22-year-old Rituparna Das has thus had to take her place and she has done a fine job so far, winning all three of her matches.

With Sindhu being the opponent when the Warriors clash with the Hyderabad Hunters, there is a possibility that Saina could finally be on the court.

And what a match that is going to be, if that happens at all! The two crossed swords for the last time at the Commonwealth Games final, where Nehwal ground out a tight two-game win

Sindhu had her biggest career achievement just a couple of weeks earlier at the BWF World Tour Finals. However, since then, she has had mixed fortunes at the PBL.

With a win over Carolina Marin and two losses against Sung Ji Hyun and Beiwen Zhang, the Rio Olympic silver medallist hasn't been at her imperious best. It will be interesting to see how she responds should she face Saina, a player she has found hard to tackle in their last few meetings.

A freelance journalist based in Kolkata who is a diehard Rafael Nadal fan. She is also extremely passionate about India’s progress in sports and hopes to throw light on India’s unsung sports heroes through her articles. When not screaming her lungs out in support of her favourite sports stars, she can be seen reading, watching movies or immersed in planning her next travel destination!